That Mom

I wasn’t going to be that mom who let her child walk
around the house eating and drinking and jumping off furniture. I was not going
to be that mom whose child threw temper tantrums. I was not going to be that mom whose child watched TV. I wasn’t going to be that
mom whose child did not eat her fruit or vegetables. I was not going to be
that mom who let her child sleep in my bed. I wasn’t going to be that
mom who let her child play with her phone.

Then I became a mom.

And in some ways I became that mom…because to teach
your child that they cannot walk around the house with food/drinks, they have to
walk around the house with food/drinks and then be told that is not ok.  

And I was that mom whose child had a temper tantrum in
the grocery store over a box of animal crackers that I took away on the day she
turned 2 ½ . Here I was thinking I was halfway through my daughter’s second year
and had yet to experience the “terrible twos” I’d heard so much about. And I let
her have the tantrum, then calmed her down, explaining that no matter how mad
you are, we still have to pay for the animal crackers, which means releasing the
grip so I can take them out of your hands.

I was that mom whose child some days devoured fruits
and vegetables and other days wouldn’t touch them. And sometimes you have to
introduce new foods, even if just to determine that your little doesn’t like
them. And then try them again and again because she just might change her
mind...

I was that mom who does occasionally let my child
sleep in my bed, (not as a baby - I was too scared I’d squish her) especially
when my husband is gone.  Or when she’s sick or I felt like I just needed to
cuddle my little girl because I could. Bad news stories have that affect on
me-they serve as reminders that there are people in this world who don’t have
that choice and I am lucky enough to do so, sometimes we just indulge that. It
feels good to cuddle that little person and feel the warmth of the her body and
the comfort of her breathing. As for her helicopter sleeping style-constantly
rotating all night long-I could do without.

I am that mom who lets my daughter watch videos and
look at pictures of herself on my phone. I even downloaded educational apps
(gasp!) just for her. And if I’m being honest, she is far less clumsy with the
phone than I am.

And from all this, I realized I am this mom. I am me.
I am a culmination of all those moms. I am a mom who loves my little girl and the baby on the way and who tries to make life fun. When we see other moms doing things
that are quick to fall under the category of that mom, maybe we are not
seeing them as they are all the time. We don’t always see people on their best
days all the time because we don’t have best days every single day. And that’s
ok. We don’t need to categorize ourselves anyway…

 

~Angela